Dove Funeral Services is part of the L&A Group of Companies and is
run by a team of professionals aimed at providing affordable services to
the people of PNG.
Kevin Bender, general manager of Dove Funeral Services, said the new
funeral service would stand by its mission to provide affordable funeral
service to the people of PNG so that they could give their relatives
and loved once a dignified send off.
The new funeral service featured a showroom with various coffin and headstone sizes, a mortuary, two chillers and a chapel.
Later, a crematory will be set up.
Bender was previously with the Funeral Home for many years and was not new to the business.
Bender is a professional in the business and has studied embalming in Australia and in the United Kingdom.
He also has another experience staff member Keroto Alepa, who has an embalming certificate from Australia.
Bender said Dove currently has nine staff member and they are
anticipating the number to increase to at least 15 in the near future.
He said they would have training for staff and from time to time have an
expert from Australia to keep them abreast with mortuary processes.
Bender said they are also looking at branching to outstations later on.
The overnight cost of a corpse at their facility is K100 but he said
they would like to minimise the stay of the dead there unless the bodies
needed to go to faraway places.
O’Neill had congratulated the management and staff of L&A Group of Companies for the launch of their new business.
He said the new facility “will provide absolute service” to the people of PNG

ONE of the country’s biggest gold mines was yesterday raided by an unruly mob who went on a rampage injuring employees and damaging equipment, The National reports.
Porgera mine general manager Greg Walker and Enga province Governor Pater Ipatas have sent an urgent message to the government, police and the defence force in Port Moresby to provide security and address the deteriorating law and order problem in the area.
Mine workers were injured and three were taken hostage as scores of illegal miners went on a rampage through the open pit early yesterday morning. The three workers were later freed, with one sustaining serious injuries.
Substantial damage was done to mine equipment although no estimated cost has been released.
The Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) mining operations in the open pit had been halted until the safety of workers could be guaranteed.
Walker said: “We have reported this serious incident to the government and to police.
“We are calling on them to act swiftly to restore law and order in Porgera.”
“There is no excuse for the illegal and violent behaviour of these trespassers – they place our employees and themselves in grave danger when they act outside of the law in their attempts to steal gold from the mine,” Walter said.
“The behaviour of these illegal miners, virtually all of whom have migrated in from outside of Porgera, has also contributed to the steep decline of law and order in the Porgera valley, affecting the community at large.
“This simply has to be stopped and I call on the government to undertake its responsibility to protect our legal right to peacefully conduct our business.”
Ipatas condemned the actions of the illegal miners, which the mine management said numbered over a thousand, saying many of them were from outside Porgera.
He has asked the police and soldiers in Port Moresby to come to Enga and help restore law and order.
Ipatas said illegal miners in the area continued to be stubborn despite the number of them killed or maimed by mining explosions. The most recent case was on March 3 in which five men who had illegally entered the mine were killed during a routine blast underground.
“They have not learned from the recent incident in which five people died, that they should not be in there,” he said.
“They should know by know that the PJV has been given the lease to do the mining and exploration. They have the legal right.
“The actions of these illegal miners have an impact on Porgera, Enga and PNG. We can’t allow criminasl to take control of the area.
“I call on police to strengthen their presence in the Porgera Valley so that the interests of the country can be protected.
“I wouldn’t mind a call-out of the PNGDF soldiers to help police in the area. These are not locals doing this illegal mining. They are people from other areas.
“I’m also mindful that there are people living on the special mining lease area. It’s time that they are resettled so that the area is free from local people and illegal miners.”

By ANCILLA WRAKUALE

PAPUA New Guinea women in business can now have access to updated
business and trade information, thanks to a new website that was
launched on Tuesday night, The National reports.
The website was launched by Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Sir Puka Temu at the Crowne Plaza in Port Moresby.
It features information on different sectors of the economy and would be
accessible by members of the National Development Bank’s Women in
Business Club.
Sir Puka commended the board of NDB led by chairman William Lamur and
managing director Richard Maru for their foresight in organising the
summit to empower, inspire and add value to local women entrepreneurs.
“The fact that more than 1,000 applicants applied to attend the summit –
which could only accommodate 300 women - is a testimony of the sheer
determination and struggle of our women entrepreneurs for recognition,
support and empowerment to be equal partners in the development of our
nation,” he said.
“In PNG, we should talk about a new ‘PNG Dream’ and this summit is the
staging point of our new shared dream, which should aim to grow our
formal women in business sector to half or more of the companies
registered and operating in PNG, especially in the SME sector.
“Even in emerging and developed nations, women own and manage half of
the companies in the formal sector, including the United States of
America, where the women-owned businesses were the fastest growing
sector in the US business community.
“If the women in America can do it, our women in PNG can do it.”
Sir Puka said small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) contributed
meaningfully to the country’s economy, adding that he would make sure
that as minister responsible, NDB would be properly funded to empower
SME development.
Meanwhile, Sir Puka assured NDB that it would get its K130 million budget funding at the earliest possible time.
“As the minister for NDB, I am committed to ensuring NDB receives
adequate funding like the K130 million we have provided in 2012 budget,”
he said.
“I will be working closely with my other colleague ministers to ensure the funding is released to NDB as soon as possible.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

THE NATIONAL Development Bank has launched two new loan products for women in business, The National reports.
NDB managing director Richard Maru launched the products on Tuesday evening at the close of the inaugural NDB Women in Business Summit in Port Moresby.

NDB managing director Richard Maru addressing an enthusiastic crowd of women at the Women in Business Summit at Holiday Inn on Monday.-Nationalpic by EKAR KEAPU

The women applauded the good news and praised Maru, his staff and the NDB board for the tremendous job done.
Both loan products have very low interest rates with terms of up to 20 years.
Maru said NDB research on women entrepreneurs found that high equity rates and short-term loans were some of the major challenges for women and the new products were aimed at mitigating these.
The first loan product is called “Start up NDB WIB Package” and the second one is known as “Grower NDB WIB Loan Package”.
Under the first loan package, women could get between K5,000 and K100,000 with 10% fixed interest rate and terms of two to 15 years.
The equity rate is now at 20% with security and 30% without security, where previously NDB required 40% equity requirement.
The “Grower NDB WIB Loan Package” has no limit on loan amount, with 20% equity required.
Maru said women without security should not worry because NDB would provide guarantee up to K100,000 through its guarantee scheme.
“Security will be a thing of the past, so ladies, there are no more excuses”, he said.
Maru said to qualify for the loan, women must show that they were sole owners of the business and not their husbands.
He said the new products catered for those who wanted to start new businesses, and those who were already into business and wished to expand.
Maru said research globally had shown that men gave 30% of their income to their families while women gave 80%, so it was appropriate to support women knowing that they would support their families.
Three women got their loans from NDB on Tuesday night under the new loan package.
Angela Korowa, a business woman from Western Highlands, was lost for words when her name was announced as a successful applicant for a loan of K56,000.
“Doing business is tough but now I know I can face the challenge with help from NDB,” she said.

INDEPENDENT Public Business Corporation (IPBC) has signed the contract recently approved by National Executive Council for the development of a new port facility for Lae, The National reports.The contract with China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd was signed by chairman Thomas Webster and managing director Thomas Abe.
It was counter-signed by representatives of China Harbor Engineering and Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio.
The signing at Government House on Monday paved the way for work on the K700-million-plus contract to start.

“A preconstruction meeting is to be held in two weeks, after which commencement no­tices will be issued to the contractors,” Abe said.
“China Harbor Engineering is already on the ground in Lae and Port Moresby doing preliminary work, and is keen to start work immediately.
“This is a very important step forward for the nation’s most important port.
“The port is unable to meet current demand and is in urgent need of expansion if it is not to remain a very serious obstacle to the economic development of the Momase-Highlands region.
“There is very significant development occurring throughout the region, in particular the LNG project.
“Reconstruction and expansion of Lae Port is essential if all planned developments are to go ahead smoothly and efficiently.”
Abe said the Lae Port project would itself spur economic activity and jobs growth, and that once completed, it would play a big role in other development, such as agriculture, forestry and mining and petroleum.
It would also help to lower the cost of taking goods to local and international markets and reduce input transport costs..
The main element of the project is the construction of new port facilities including a tidal basin, a berth and a terminal.
Work is expected to start in the middle of this year and finish towards the end of 2015.
It is being funded 70% by the ADB and 30% by the national government through IPBC

Stop N Shop supermarkets in Port Moresby have fresh supplies of home-grown lettuce straight from the hydroponics farm of their mother company, CPL, at Gerehu Stage 6, The National reports.
Lettuce seeds are placed in propagation tubes, put in a germination room until they sprout, and then brought into the open where they are fed nutrients through the hydroponics process until harvested.
The entire process from seed to harvest takes about two months.
Hydroponics supervisor Morea Gau, told The National that the lettuce was then placed in plastic containers and taken to Rainbow, Town, Badili, and Waigani Central Stop N Shop shops.

“We started this project in late 2010,” he said.
“We currently only grow lettuce.
“We currently only supply to Stop N Shop shops, however, are thinking of supplying hotels and resource projects as well.
“Hydroponics is the same as normal agriculture, the only difference being that nutrients and acid/alkaline levels are controlled in the tank room using a computer.

THE City Pharmacy Group’s paper-making project at Gerehu Stage 6, Port Moresby, is progressing well since its launching last November, The National reports.
The paper-making technology, which uses kunai grass and banana stems, is a not-for-profit initiative designed to help improve livelihoods in the rural communities.

CPL Group of of Companies employee Bona Aluafo shows a sheet of paper that is made from kunai grass and banana pulp at Gerehu Stage 6, Port Moresby. The paper is already used for wrapping at Stop N Shop shops in the city.-Nationalpics by MALUM NALU

CPL is currently in the process of selecting villages to get involved in this project with focus on more women involvement.
The project was established last September with the assistance of a Nepalese non-government organisation, Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources.
A group of residents at Gerehu stage 6 had been trained to make paper using kunai grass,
Since then, the project has also been turning banana stems into paper.
The technology is very simple, with the kunai and banana stems chopped up, boiled, put in a beating machine where it is pounded into mash, poured into a frame, and then placed in the sun to dry out as an A2-sized piece of paper, which could be bleached or kept in its natural colour texture.
Gerehu resident Bona Paike recalled that last year, the community was informed by CPL about a man from Nepal who would teach them about making paper from kunai.
“The man asked us if we wanted to learn about making paper and we volunteered,” he said.
“There were seven of us who started off, with only five of us staying for the training.
“I’m very much enjoying this.
“We have so much kunai and bananas and we have to make use of it.”
CPL marketing manager Prue Go said the locally-produced paper had been put on sale at City Pharmacy and Stop N Shop stores since December.
The shops also used them for wrapping.
“We started selling it at City Pharmacy and Stop N Shop stores, especially during the holidays,” she said.
“People have really embraced the product as their own … they are really amazed when they found out that this is locally-made paper.”
Go said the vision of CPL chairman Mahesh Patel was for the company to take the technology out to the villages and teach the people how to make paper, which would then be sold at CPL stores and they keep the proceeds from the sales.
“We will be introducing this to some villages and communities, starting with Port Moresby,” she said.
“CPL is also very much into women enhancement programmes and this is something we would like to teach women.”

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill last night called on investors to show genuine commitment as PNG’s development partners, The National reports.
He was at the launch of Oil Search Ltd’s multi-million kina Oil Search Health Foundation at the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby.
The foundation will employ more than 80 people, a budget of more than A$24 million (K48 million) in its first year of operations and work in nine provinces of PNG.
The project represents a long-term commitment by Oil Search to make a positive difference to society.
Oil Search managing director Peter Botten said PNG had been good to the company and it wanted to put something significant back into the country.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and Oil Search managing director Peter O’Neill at the launch of the Oil Search Health Foundation at the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby last night.-Nationalpic by MALUM NALU

O’Neill said establishment of this registered non-government charity sends out an important message to all existing and intending investors, especially in the extractive natural resources sector of our economy.”
“That message is for investors to show genuine commitment as our nation’s development partners and being appreciative corporate citizens by truly delivering their share of social and community development obligations.
“In a nutshell, Oil Search seems to be saying to other investors and businesses to give something back to the nation that hosts their successful businesses.
“That is a good message.
“Our government and our citizens will always be grateful to the companies that give some social or community service back to the communities in which they operate – even if these were just token obligatory services.
“These obligations, including assisting in development and provision of basic life support services, are honourable.
“Our citizens need services such as clean water supply systems, rural electrification, upgrading roads and bridges, and other community needs in resource project development areas.”
O’Neill admitted that the government could not meet all the needs and obligations of the people.
Botten said PNG had been good to Oil Search.
“It has provided the vast majority of our people, and almost all of our assets, over many years of hard and dedicated work,” he said.
“Oil Search has grown with it, and been part of it, the fabric of the country, since 1929.”
Botten said as PNG went through massive economic and social changes, Oil Search as a major corporate entity in the country needed to be assisting in managing the huge challenges that these changes represented, and one such way was though the health foundation.
“We have also built upon our relationships with government, the National Department of Health, the skills and capacity of donor agencies and agencies such as the Global Fund, AusAid, Asian Development Bank, MMV and others to work towards a new private/public partnership,” he said.
“This is a new way of utilising respective respective skills between the private sector, government and NGOs, in order to make a positive difference to the communities in which we work.”

City Pharmacy Ltd Group, Papua New Guinea’s biggest
retailing network, on Tuesday announced an after-tax profit of K19.13
million as it celebrates its 25th year of operations in the country.

Chairman, Mahesh Patel, announced the profit when
presenting CPL’s 2011 annual report and audited financial statement during a
media briefing at the group’s head office at Gerehu Stage 6, Port Moresby.

CPL Group of Companies hydroponics supervisor, Morea Gau, shows lettuce that is
grown at the company's hydroponics farm at Gerehu Stage 6, Port Moresby, and
sold at Stop N Shop supermarkets around the city.-Picture by MALUM NALU

The profit is an 86.81% increase from the K10.24
million it recorded in 2010.

A dividend of 5t per share plus a bonus of 2t per
share has been proposed, and after approval at CPL’s annual general meeting on
April 26, will be paid in equal tranches in May and July 2012.

The report shows that sales increased by 27.57% to
K321.77 million, group assets increased from K70.81 million to K85.78 million,
return on equity increased from 14.46% to 22.30%, and operating expenses to
turnover increased by 0.5% due to unprecedented costs.

Patel said while there had been contribution from
the LNG project to some extent, CPL had experienced unprecedented increases in
property rental cost, security costs, and other operating expenses.

He gave full credit to the 2,182 staff and
management of CPL, who he said had contributed immensely to the success of the
group in 2011.

“We had probably one of our best years last year,”
he told reporters and representatives from the finance sector.

“Our challenge now is to beat last year.

“We’re fairly confident that we can keep on growing,
the way the economy is growing.”

Patel said with continued economic growth in PNG,
CPL was confident that its strong and solid returns would continue in 2012.

“We will continue to strengthen our medium to
long-term position during the year through capital investments – budgeted at
K7.25 million – in our core business and via new growth opportunities,” he
said.

“We will also look at expansion overseas to leverage
our scale and international sourcing capabilities.

“We will continue our focus in promoting and helping
PNG farmers to bring produce to market…we are planning a produce collection and
cold store depot in Port Moresby, which will have sorting, cleaning and
packaging facilities.

“The pharmacy division will add new branches – a
second outlet in Kokopo and a new outlet in the highlands region in 2012.

“The supermarket division is exploring an additional
new outlet in Port Moresby and a major revamp of our biggest outlet in Waigani
Drive.

“Our joint-venture operations of Hardware Haus
continue to grow from strength-to-strength and we will see greater profits in 2012.

“We will continue exploring opportunities that the
LNG project will bring.

“Our much-delayed cinema project has started
successfully in February, and we are looking at additional sites in Port
Moresby and around PNG.”

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

THE female warder under investigation for having paid sexual encounters
with a notorious criminal inside prison has told investigators she had
financial problems, The National reports.
Police have charged prison officer Rose Kambluage Filoua with one count of official corruption.
Filoua, who is married, has admitted having sex with serial bank robber William Nanua Kapris on 15 occasions inside prison.
She told police she visited Kapris under the pretext of providing him welfare assistance.
Another female warder is suspected of being a lookout while Kapris and
Filoua had sex in the toilet of the prison’s welfare rehabilitation
office.
National Capital District metropolitan commander Supt Peter Guinness
said police should be laying another 14 charges against Filoua because
the sexual encounters were committed on different dates at Bomana Prison
near Port Moresby.
It is understood that some senior officers at the prison had been aware
of the affair for some time but did not inform prison authorities about
it.
Police believed that more warders and a lot of money were involved in
the jail sex syndicate which had been happening for over a year.
Guinness said others involved in the matter would be questioned by police.
Acting Correctional Services Commissioner Martin Balthasar said Filoua
admitted having financial problems which forced her to have the affair
with Kapris.
She had boasted to her colleagues that she had married a “millionaire inmate”.
Kapris and his gang are awaiting trial robbing Bank of South Pacific
branches in Kerema (May 2008) and Madang (July 2008) which netted almost
K4 milion.
Only a small portion of the money was recovered.
Kapris had been jailed previously for a number of other serious crimes.
Balthasar said Kapris would pay Filoua “large sums of money” after their
sexual meetings in jail. Police said Kapris’ wife knew about the
affair.
Balthasar said Filoua also faced charges relating to serious security
breaches under section 176 of the Correctional Services Act, an offence
that carried a maximum sentence of two years.
He said two other female officers were picked up by prison and police officers yesterday and questioned about the affair.
“She (Filoua) has been suspended but, technically, she is on the payroll
as it takes two to three weeks to do the paperwork to stop her pay,”
Balthasar said.
Guinness said Filoua was refused bail and kept at Boroko police cells as
the case was serious and that others implicated were yet to be
questioned.
“At the moment investigators are following the money trail. We are
tracing the bank account where she was allegedly getting her money
from,” he said.
Guinness said Filoua would have her day in court.
“I know it is embarrassing for her family but what she did was morally and ethically wrong,” he said.
“She did not do it once but on numerous occasions and was lured by money.”

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

OIL Search Ltd will be spending up to US$2.1 billion (K4.3 billion) on
investments in PNG alone this year, which will make it the country’s
single largest investor during the year, The National reports.
Managing director Peter Botten said yesterday that this was a very significant investment by Oil Search shareholders.
Last year, Oil Search posted a net profit of US$202.5 million (K420
million), reflecting the rise of oil prices and lower exploration
expenses.
“So (this is) a very solid investment record in the country overall, but this year is our biggest ever,” Botten said.
He said a lot of money was being spent on the LNG project, rejuvenating
oil fields, finding new oil, carrying out exploration and appraisal work
and drilling.
Drilling was also being carried out in the Gulf of Papua for the first time in many years.
From the 2011 financial reports released this year, this investment
reflected the company’s confidence in the government and continued
operating stability, as well as its ability to manage in-country
challenges, including the forthcoming elections.
It also reported that the cost of the ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG project had
increased its initial value of US$15 billion (K31 billion) to US$15.7
billion (K32.5 billion) due to the impact of currency fluctuations.
This strong performance had placed Oil Search in a good position to
launch a long-term commitment to assist the National Health Department
through the implementation of malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and maternal and
child mortality projects within its impacted areas.
Botten said the Oil Search Health Foundation would become an independent body to run these projects by end of this year.
He said their participation in this area would be logistics, finance and
experience in working on the ground in a private-public partnership, as
well as managing donor monies for these programmes, using existing
infrastructure.
“With the LNG happening and revenues coming, the future lies in us and
the critical role we have in providing something back to PNG,” Botten
said.
He said OSL was also concerned at the spread of benefits from
resource-rich provinces to others, which was the core goal of the health
foundation

OIL Search Ltd has created a new charity, Oil Search Health Foundation,
as part of its social obligation for better health services in Papua New
Guinea, The National reports.
Managing director Peter Botten yesterday gave the media a sneak preview
of the foundation as Oil Search prepared for its launching at the
Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby tomorrow evening.

He said US$5 to US$7 million (K10 million to K14 million) would be spent
each year by the foundation starting with 10 provinces: Southern
Highlands, Hela, Gulf, Enga, Western Highlands, Jiwaka, Chimbu, Madang,
Morobe and National Capital District.
“We want to expand this programme across the country,” Botten said.
“The programmes we are doing are world-class programmes in conjunction with the Department of Health.
“This is a long-term commitment that Oil Search is taking.
“The Health Foundation is a critical part of us being able to provide something back to the country.
“As PNG goes through major change, it becomes more and more important for government and developers to work together.”
The foundation is a non-profit, registered charity created in
collaboration with the National Department of Health and various major
donors, including Global Fund, to provide a platform for the management
and delivery of community health initiatives within PNG, primarily
focused on HIV/AIDS management, malaria control and child and maternal
health.
AusAid and Asian Development Bank will also be partners and will utilise
the services of non-government organisations such as Susu Mamas and
Igat Hope, as well as church groups to deliver health services.
It will build upon Oil Search’s community programme success and to
ensure that ongoing management and funding continue to strengthen the
public health care systems in PNG.
Oil Search Health Foundation manager Ross Hutton said the company had
about 20 years experience in providing health services to its employees
in Southern Highlands and Gulf provinces, and would work closely with
national and provincial health authorities on this new initiative.
The foundation will be the operating platform for the “National
Expansion Initiative” and would enable Oil Search to channel necessary
funds and resources into achieving the ultimate objective of improving
public health across PNG.
Oil Search will collaborate with the Department of Health, World Health
Organisation, and other health authorities in the country to ensure the
initiative complements national health plans and programmes.
An independent board of trustees would facilitate attraction of international donor and joint venture funding.
The trust will maintain its own bank account and accounting records and will be subject to annual external audit.

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